


Shadows in the Night

by Anima_princess_1



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:55:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29662089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anima_princess_1/pseuds/Anima_princess_1
Summary: Following the events of season 3, Sypha and Trevor find an injured dire wolf and get her back on her paws. After she makes it clear that she wants to stay with them by killing a night creature approaching their camp, they name her Artemis and take her with them on their travels. Back at the castle, Alucard befriends two orphaned dire wolf pups and together Trefor and Morning Star (or Star for short) help him work past the feelings of betrayal and loneliness.





	Shadows in the Night

The wolf whined in pain. She had been beaten, injured, and left to die by humans. Humans were afraid of her kind, especially after the Night Hordes had been unleashed. She was a dire wolf and dire wolves were bigger, stronger, and smarter with a longer life span than a normal wolf. This lead humans into believing they were demons when, of course, they weren't. Only the Speakers and the Belmonts ever showed her kind any respect. She remembered her mother telling her and her siblings stories about them. However, she would never get to tell stories to her own pups. She laid by the side of the road waiting for death to claim her. The sound of a wagon approaching came to her ears. She closed her eyes, hoping the humans would give her a quick death.

( ( (

The wolf woke to find herself in the back of a wagon with her wounds treated and dressed. Panic set in and she began barking a thrashing about trying to get to her paws but finding her legs unable to support her. The panic soon ebbed away. She wasn't dead and her injuries had been treated. True she was in the back of a wagon but she wasn't restrained.

"I think our friend has calmed down," came a female's voice.

The wolf looked up to see two humans, a man with dark hair and a woman with red hair. Though she had never encountered either, her mother had described the symbol of the Speakers and the crest of the Belmonts, both of which she could see. She rested her head on her paws. She didn't make a habit of trusting humans but she would trust these two...for now.

( ( (

Sypha reached down a stroked the wolf's soft, blond fur. Trevor had told her not to get attached. Once the wolf was better, they were going to have to let her go. She was a wild animal and belonged in the forest where she could run free. But even he had to admit that the wolf was just what they needed. After what happened in Lindenfeld, she was a welcome distraction.

By the end of the third week, the wolf's injuries had healed and Sypha and Trevor were forced to let their friend go. However, they both could have sworn they saw her following the wagon at a distance and every morning there would be wolf tracks all over the camp and evidence that something had dug up the food scraps and slept under the wagon. One night, they were awoken by the sounds of a night creature. Mixed in with it was the barking and growing of a large dog...or a wolf.

"It's our wolf," Sypha said after they had gotten out of the wagon to find the wolf entering their camp dragging a dead night creature behind her.

"She must have smelled the thing and knew it was dangerous," Trevor said as the wolf deposited her kill at their feet. "She could have run off and saved herself but she chose to protect us."

The wolf was still there the next morning, frisking about the camp and barking happily waiting for breakfast. They gave her some bread and cheese and, as there were preparing to leave, she surprised them by jumping into the back of the wagon as if she had been doing so since she was a puppy.

"Looks like she's coming with us," Trevor said.

The wagon continued down the road, this time with a dire wolf looking out over the side, tail wagging and tongue hanging out of her mouth like a happy dog going for a ride.

"We need to give her a name," Sypha said as she pet the wolf. "If she's going to stay with us. Even the horses have names." She gestured to Michael and Gabriel.

"What do you suggest?"

"How about...Artemis? In Greek mythology, she was the goddess of the moon and the hunt."

"Sounds perfect."

"Belnades, Belmont, and Artemis."

Artemis barked.

"Alright, girl. _Artemis_ , Belnades, and Belmont."

( ( (

"I was right," Trevor said. "Gabriel threw a shoe. And Michael's about to lose one. They'll both have to see a blacksmith."

"At least we managed to make it to town," Sypha said.

The blacksmith wasn't hard to find. No matter the town, city, or village, it was always in the same place.

"Can I help you?" the smith said coming to greet them.

"Our horses need to be re-shoed," Trevor said.

"It's late," the smith said. "I can get to it tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a couple of nice stalls they can stay in."

Artemis jumped out of the wagon and looked around a little uneasy. This was the first time she had been in a village. Her mother had always told her to stay away from them...and towns, cities, and farms. She looked up at Sypha and wined uncomfortably.

"It's alright, girl," Sypha said petting the wolf, her hand brushing against the collar Trevor had made so people would know that Artemis wasn't just some wild animal. "We won't be here long."

"What a beautiful animal," the smith said. "She's a dire wolf, right?"

"She is," Trevor said. "We found her injured on the side of the road and she decided to stay with us."

Trevor and Sypha kept Artemis close as they left the blacksmith. It was clear she was uneasy and it was best to make sure that she didn't bite anyone even by accident. The villagers watched them, clearly as uneasy having Artemis there as she was being there.

"Get that beast out of here!" someone said. The head man came towards them extremely angry. "That wolf," he said pointing at Artemis. "We don't want it here."

"She won't hurt anyone," Sypha said. "She's actually very friendly."

"It's a wolf. Wolves are dangerous monsters."

Trevor and Sypha didn't bother to tell him that they've seen (and fought) worse monsters than a single dire wolf.

"Look," Trevor said trying to defuse things, "we'll be leaving tomorrow once our horses have been re-shoed."

The headman seemed to accept this. "But that beast can't be allowed to wander around the village."

( ( (

"I'm sorry about this, girl," Trevor said as he tied the other end of the rope to the wagon. "We have to follow the rules of the village."

Artemis pulled at the rope. She had never been tied up before.

"We'll bring you back something to eat from the tavern," Sypha said.

Artemis wined as she watched them cross the street to the tavern. She then started barking and kept it up until her friends returned with food. Hours later, she began barking again.

"Artemis, stop barking," Trevor said. "You're going to make the villagers even more mad at us."

"She smells something," Sypha said looking towards the entrance to the village.

Artemis continued barking, straining against the rope until she was almost chocking herself. The noise woke the village.

"Shut that wolf up!" the headman said storming up to them.

"She's trying to tell us something," Trevor said as Artemis growled at the entrance of the village.

A horrible shriek came from the forest night creatures were approaching the village. Giving one final pull, Artemis managed to break her collar. Still barking, she ran to the entrance of the village and continued to bark. The night creatures didn't come any further but it would only be a matter of time before they realized Artemis was a single wolf. However, it gave Trevor and Sypha time to organize the villagers much the same way that Trevor did the people of Greshit. The whole time they kept praising Artemis and telling her to keep the night creatures at bay. Once the defenses were set up, Tevor called Artemis back. The dire wolf stood between him and Sypha, growling at the village entrance. The night creatures entered the village, blocked off by two walls of ice. However, they refused to move forward, not even after the exit was sealed off and the pike men moved forward and not after they were burned with holy water. Growling and barking, Artemis ran between the two walls of ice as if baiting the night creatures. And it seemed to work. Enraged by the wolf, they charged forward and right to their deaths.

"You did such a good job, girl," Sypha told Artemis after the dead night creatures had been dealt with.

"Not bad for your first battle," Trevor said.

Artemis wagged her tail, happy at praise she was getting. The next morning, Artemis stayed close to her friends as they restocked their supplies. However, the villagers didn't look at Artemis as if they didn't want her there. A group of children ran up to them.

"Can we pet your wolf?" the oldest asked.

"Of course you can. She's very friendly," Sypha said.

"Just don't touch her face. That's where her teeth are," Trevor warned as the children began petting Artemis.

The children laughed as Artemis began licking their faces, her tail wagging.

"What's her name?" one of the children asked.

"Artemis," Sypha said.

"Hi, Artemis," another child said.

The children petted her fore a few more minuets before helping Sypha and Trevor gather the supplies they needed and carry them back to the wagon. The blacksmith came up to them as they began putting the supplies in the wagon.

"Both your horses have been re-shoed. I also noticed that one of the axles on you wagon was starting to break so I fixed that as well."

"Thank you," Trevor said. "How much do we owe you?"

"The wagon's no charge. I also fixed this."

The blacksmith held up what looked like Artemis's collar except it looked brand new. It was fairly obvious that he hadn't fixed the old one but made a new one. The leather looked new with a new buckle attached to one end and the symbol for the Speakers in the center. Artemis wagged her tail as if she knew the collar was for her.

"You didn't have to do that," Sypha said.

The blacksmith just knelt in front of Artemis and put the collar on her.

"It's a thank you," he said. "She's the one who woke up the village in time to defend ourselves."

Once the supplies were on the wagon, they were ready to go. Artemis looked out the front of the wagon, her tail wagging.

"Safe travels," the blacksmith said reaching out to shake Trevor's hand.

When Trevor shook the blacksmith's hand, he felt something cold and metal in his hand. Looking, he saw that it was another tag for Artemis's collar; this one looking like the Belmont Family Crest.

"I saw the crest on your shirt. It can be attached to the other tag. Consider it a thank you for helping protect our home," the blacksmith said.

As the wagon pulled out of the village, Artemis looked out wagging her tail; the sunlight glinting off her new tags.

"You did a good job back there, Artemis," Sypha said to the wolf.

"We should start training her," Trevor said. "Then she can help us."

( ( (

Stories soon began circulating about the wolf that saved Lupu Village. And, with each telling, it got more exaggerated. By the time it reached a certain castle above a certain secret hold, the stories stated that the wolf had fought off the night creatures on her own. Of course, the protector of the castle knew the real story having heard it from a group of Speaker who had been in the area.

"It looks like Trevor, Sypha, and their new friend are making quite a name for themselves," Alucard said to the two pairs of bright blue eyes looking up at him.

The two dire wolf pups (one a black male and the other a copper female) had become a part of his life not long after the twins betrayed him. Trafor and Morning Star as he had named them had lost their mother to a hunter and were too young to be on their own. Alucard knew that the pups would never be able to live in the wild after he raised them but they were good company and took away the sorrow of loneliness and the sting of betrayal.

"Come, Trafor. Come, Star," Alucard said turning towards the castle. "It's dinner time."

The two pups followed him as if he were an adult in their pack (which, of course, he was). Alucard liked having them around. They may not be able to take to him but he could tale to them and they made the loneliness and isolation a little more bearable.


End file.
